REVIEW: Minus the Bear @ Crocodile Rock, 2/4

Even a deaf person could enjoy a Minus the Bear concert. Who needs to hear what song is playing when it's just as easy to see what song is playing?

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REVIEW: Minus the Bear @ Crocodile Rock, 2/4

POSTED: Friday, February 12, 2010, 1:45 PM

Even a deaf person could enjoy a Minus the Bear concert. Who needs to hear what song is playing when it's just as easy to see what song is playing?

Take a glance at guitarist Dave Knudson during any given song and he's sure to be doing a dance requiring a little too much coordination for the rest of us: a jittery Zydeco during Menos el Oso's "The Game Needed Me," a frantic jazz-tap during "The Fix." Shit. Did he just do the Charleston??

Nope. That was the riff for fan favorite "Knights".

They spread out their set well, including three songs off their soon-to-be-released-yet-to-be-named album, focusing on songs from Menos el Oso. Unfortunately, while I was enjoying the show, there were other people enjoying the show, too.

1,500 of them.

Throughout the opening acts, bouncers created tunnels in the crowd to inject more people into a space that was already impossible to move in. In short, I got to know the bro in front of me a little too well. There was one group of dudes in front of me — all with backwards fitted hats — who were following the one alpha-bro. At all times, this alpha-bro was either making out with his girlfriend or staring into his toadie's eyes and singing the lyrics to each other. And when the leader was occupied with his girlfriend, the toadie could be seen staring longingly at him, waiting for his chance to prove himself worthier than the girl.

So as I was swept away in the sea, Minus the Bear provided the soundtrack. "Drilling" provided the energy as the opener. Everything off of Highly Refined Pirates was entertaining, if not just to watch Knudson tap bass and lead rhythms all around his fret board while I was dodging the nearest crowd surfer.

Along with his fleet-of-foot dance moves, Knudson engaged in a lot of other typically non-lead guitarist behavior. In a few solos, he didn't touch his guitar. Well, he had to hold it, but there were no intentions of strumming, plucking or picking. Instead, Knudson knelt and played his sprawling pedal board; he turned knobs and arranged loops that would become five or six separate guitar parts. And when he wasn't kneeling, he was doing his trademark pedal dance. The way he swings one leg and holds his guitar at his side in one arm, it looks like he's in mid air, trying to land some special airwalk move in Tony Hawk Pro Skater.

Setlist:

Drilling
Into the Mirror
Thanks for the Killer Game of Crisco Twister
White Mystery
Throwin' Shapes
*New Song* Excuses
The Fix
The Game Needed Me
Fine + 2 Points
Get Me Naked 2: Electric Boogaloo
Broken China
Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse
Knights
(First Encore) Spritz!!! Spritz!!! (Not sure on this one.)
(Second Encore) Pachuca Sunrise

...And now for the openers...

Maps and Atlases were superb. After listening to their studio recordings, I didn't think they could reproduce the all-over-the-place drums, guitar or vocals. But they did. The amazing thing is, everyone in the band is playing lead, but no one is playing as if the spotlight's on them. There aren't any over-exaggerated moves. There isn't any staring at the notes they are playing because it's so damn hard. It's just four dudes that play well, playing well together

Setlist:

Witch
Israeli Caves
Ted Zancha
Daily News
Banished Be Cavalier
Pigeon
Everyplace is a House

Phantogram was good as well, even though I didn't know anything about them the shoegazy-electronica-trip hoppers with decent beats. Having J Dilla and Madlib in their top friends should give a hint to where they draw their influence. They'll be in town this Saturday, February, 13 at Kung Fu Necktie.

Setlist:

As Far as I Can See
Let Me Go
Mouthful of Diamonds
Running from the Cops
You Are the Ocean
All Dried Up
Make a Fist
Turn it Off
When I'm Small

Posted by Brendan Bianowicz @ 1:45 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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